Door-actuating mechanism for general-service cars.



W. E. MOREY.

DOOR ACTUATING MECHANISM FOR GENERAL SERVICE CARS. APPLICATION FILED MAY 5. 1913.

3, Patented Oct. 26, 1915.

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Patented Oct. 26, 1915.

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TlTU T WILLIAM E. MOREY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASS'IGNOR- TO NATIONAL LUMP CAR COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION OF I'IIAINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented @ct. 26,1915.

Application filed May 5,1913. Serial No. 765,603.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM E. Monnr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door-Actuating Mechanism for General-Service Cars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates in general to freight cars, and more particularly to door actuating mechanism for freight cars of the type known as general service cars.

The practicability of general servicecars depends largel upon the efliciency of the mechanism for operating the drop doors which form the principal part of the car floor. It is essential that the operati'ng mechanism should tightly close the doors to prevent leakage of the lading; should securely support the doors in closed position so as to avoid accidental dumping of the lading; and should permit the dropping of the doors to discharge the lading. It is further essential that the door operating mechanism should be strong and durable in construction and at the same time simple in operation.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved operating mechanism for the drop doors of freight cars, which will possess the desirable characteristics above referred to.

My invention will be more fully disclosed hereinafter with reference to the accompaying drawings, in which the same is illustrated as embodied in a convenient and practical form, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a portion of one end of a freight car, parts thereof being broken away; Fig. 2, an end elevational view of a portion of the end of the freight car shown in Fig. 1, parts being broken away, Fig. 3, a cross sectional view, showing'a door in open position; Fig. 4, a cross sectional view showingthe outer edge of the door and actuating mechanism, the door being shown in nearly closed position; and Fig. 5, a view similar to Fig. 4, showing the door completely closed and supported in such position.

The same reference characters are used to designate the same parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Reference letter A indicates the center sill,

' which may be of any suitable construction,

inch, for instance, as of the box girder" ype.

B indicates the end sill of the car, and C one of the cross bearers or transverse members of the underframe.

D designates one of the end walls of the car, and E one of the side walls. F indicates one of the drop doors which 18 pivotally supported by hinges G upon the center sill. The door F is adapted to be swung upwardly about its inner edge into a closed position flush with the plane of the floor of the car, or to be swung downwardly, to the position shown in Fig. 3.

H designates a fixed floor strip which overlles the transverse underframe member C and projects on the opposite sides thereof so as to form stops against which the adjacent side edges of the adjacent doors engage when closed.

A car of the construction above described is one well-known and does not in itself enibody my invention, but is merely illustrated and described in order that the construction and operation of my improved door actuating mechanism may be fully disclosed. It will be obvious that my invention may be applied to cars of other specific constructions than that above described.

L designates a rotary shaft supported upon the ends of the transverse members of the underframe, and preferably located vertically beneath the inclined portion 6 of the overlying car side E. through the end sill B and is provided with a squared end Z to which a lever may be applied for imparting rotary motion to the shaft.

M designates a ratchet wheel fixed to the end of the shaft L adjacent the outer surface of the end sill.

m is a pawl which cotiperates with the ratchet wheel M to retain the shaft L in any position to which it may be rotated. Each door F is connected by a pair of chains N with the rotary shaft L. Each chain N is connected to the adjacent door through the medium of a pivoted dog 0. The chain lies within a recess 0 formed in the outer vertical end of the dog and is secured to the dog by means of a bolt n. The opposite end of the dog 0 extends between the vertical flange of the door reinforcing Z-beam P, and a bracket Q, the latter being secured by rivets g to the depending flange f at the front The shaft L extends edge of the door and by other rivets to the overlyin sheet metal plate forming the door.

7) designates abolt which extends through alined holes in the bracket Q, the interposed end of the dog 9 and the web of the Z-beain P, thereby pivotally supporting the dog 0 at its upper end beneath the front edge of the door and adjacent the side of the door. twill be understood by reference to Fig. 1 that two dogs 0 are provided, one adjacent each side edge.

R designates a shaft also supported by the transverse members of the underframe. A single bracket S may be secured to each end of each of the transverse members C of the underframe, which may serve as bearing for both of the shafts L and R, as shown in Fig. 1.

Itotatably mounted upon the shaft R- are rollers T, one of such rollers being located in position to be engaged by and to guide each of the chains I and also in position to be engaged by the corresponding dog O. The rollers T may be retained in proper positions axially upon the shaft R by pins 3.

The operation of my improved door actuating mechanism is as follows: When the doors are in the open position shown in Fig. 3, and it is desired to close same, a lever is applied to the squared end Z of the shaft L and the latter shaft rotated in a direction to wind thereon the several chains N. The

winding of the chains upon the shaft L swings the doors connected therewith upwardly into the position shown in Fig. i, in which the outer end of the dog O has been raised into contact with the adjacent roller T. A further rotation of the shaft L lifts the doors into completely closed position, such complete closing of the doors being effected by a wedging action due to the dogs O passing partly around the respective rollers T into the position shown in Fig. 5. The curved seats in the outer ends of the dogs 0 rest upon the curved surfaces of the respective rollers T and are retained in such positions by the tension of the chain T. It will be observed that the strain on the chain N is however relieved to a great extent by the engagement of the dogs with the rollers T, the strain on the chains being merely that incident to retaining the dogs in engagement with the supporting rollers T.

When. it is desired to discharge the lading, the pawl m is tripped, whereupon the weight of the doors and the load thereon causes them to swing downwardly, such. downward movement being initially facilitated by the rotation of the rollers T upon the supporting shaft R, thereby permitting the dogs 0 to be readily disengaged from the rollers.

From the foregoing description it will be observed that I have invented an improved door actuating mechanism for the drop doors of freight cars, particularly of the general service type, which will enable the doors to be quickly closed through the winding of chains upon a rotary shaft. and which will insure the doors being tightly retained in closed position without imposing upon the chains the strain of supporting the doors in closed position. It will be further observed that my improved door operating mechanism is exceedingly simple in operation, as it involves merely the rotation of a single shaft in one direction to effect the closing of the doors and the retaining of them in closed position, and a rotation in an opposite direction to unlock the doo s and permit them to drop to open position.

I claim:

1. In a freight car, the combination with a downwardly swinging door in the floor thereof, of a rotary shaft, chains connected to said shaft to be wound thereon, a dog member pivoted at one end to the door having its free end connected to said chain, and a supporting member independent of the shaft and located in the path of travel of said dog, said chain coacting with the dog to bring the latter into position supported by said member as the door reaches closed piston, said member being arranged to exert a wedging action on said door in such closing movement through the medium of said dog.

2. In a freight car, the combination with a downwardly swinging door in the floor thereof, of a rotary shaft, chains connected to said shaft to be wound thereon, a dog member pivoted at one end to the door and having its free end connected to said chain, and a supporting member independent of the shaft and located in the path of travel of said dog, said chain coacting with the dog to bring the latter into position supported by said member as the door reaches closed position, and said supporting member being located adjacent the winding shaft, said member being arranged to exert a wedging action on said door in such closing movement through the medium of said dog.

3. In a freight car, the combination with a downwardly swinging door in the floor thereof, of a rotary shaft, a chain connected to said shaft to be wound thereon, a dog pivoted at one end to said door and its other end connected to said chain, the free end of said dog having a recess formed therein, a roller supported in the path of movement of the free end of said dog during the final closing movement of said dog and with which the recess in the free end of said dog engages when the door is closed.

4. In a freight car, the combination with a downwardly swinging door in the floor thereof, of a rotary shaft, a chain connected to said shaft to be wound thereon, a dog pivoted at one end to said door and its other end connected to said chain, a second shaftextending parallel to and adjacent said rotary shaft below the plane of said door when said door is in closed position and with which the free end of said dog engages when the door is in closed position.

5. In a freight car, the combination with a downwardly swinging door in the floor thereof, of a rotary shaft, a chain connected to said shaft to be wound thereon, a dog pivoted at one end to said door and its other end connected to said chain, a shaft extending parallel to and adjacent said rotary shaft, a roller mounted upon said second shaft and over which said chain extends, said dog having a recess in its outer end which engages said'roller when the door is in closed position.

6. In a freight car, the combination with a drop door formed in the floor thereof, of a rotary shaft extending transversely to the path of movement of said door, a pair of chains secured to and adapted to be wound upon said shaft, a pair of dogs pivotally connected to said door, one adjacent each side thereof, the said dogs being pivotally connected at their free ends to the respecttive chains, a shaft extending parallel with and adjacent said rotary shaft, and a pair of rollers mounted upon said second shaft over which said chains extend, said dogs having notches in their swinging ends which engage said rollers during the final closing movement of said door and thereby wedge the door tightly closed and support the same in such position.

In testimony whereof, I have subscribed my name.

WILLIAM E. MOREY.

Witnesses:

HENRY A. PARKS, ANNA L. WALTON.

Copies of this patent may-be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). 0.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,157,893, granted October 26, 1915', upon the application of William E. Morey, of Chicago, Illinois, for animprovement in Door-Actuating Mechanism for General-Service Cars, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 2, line 95, claim 1, for the word piston read position; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the ease in the Patent Oflice.

Signed and sealed this 7th day of December, A. 1)., 1915.

[SEAL] R. F. WHITEHEAD,

' Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

